The Drake Mine Experience

Since 1958, Drake Trailers have been at the forefront of Australian trailer manufacturing. As specialists in the engineering of heavy haulage and mine site floats, Drake build the toughest and most reliable heavy-duty trailers in the Australian market. With a an absolute commitment to quality, innovation and reliability, Drake’s experienced design manufacturing team produce trailers that bear the marque of equipment designed to tackle even the harshest of conditions.

Drake Trailers was founded by Colin A. Drake almost 60 years ago and has remained a family owned and operated business ever since. Growing from a small Brisbane workshop, to the current 8650sqm manufacturing facility at Wacol, the founder’s dream has always been to build Australia’s most innovative trailers. Recent upgrades to the site include new engineering and production offices, complete with 3D design capabilities, new painting and finishing booths, updated robot welding systems and redesigned work areas. The passionate team of staff has also grown to include over 170 dedicated employees.

MINE SITE TRANSPORTERS

In 1960, Drake Trailers introduced its revolutionary 100 tonne capacity ‘Swingwing’ widening low loader. This design has continued to evolve and is now available in capacities ranging from 65 to 120 tonne, a popular choice for site shifts across a range of mining scenarios. In the 1970s, Drake Trailers began to build mine site trailers and continued to the develop the design through to the last decade where Drake have also produced the new generation mine site trailers capable of carrying loads up to 550 tonnes. There are new models in development which will even exceed this payload range.

Our most commonly used Mine Site Transporter is the 120t – 200t rated mine site transporter. This model is a preferred utility to Australian mining industry leaders including BHP, Rio Tinto, Peabody and BMA. These onsite smaller capacity trailers are designed to carry dozers, drills and other onsite equipment with capacities up to 200tonnes. They come in three rows of eight, four rows of eight, and five rows of eight configurations depending on capacity requirements. The trailers are designed to couple to various prime movers including, Cat dump truck or equivalent, Haulmax, Power Trans, Loadpro, Kenworth C540 and Big Foot Mack just to name a few. With a focus on safety they feature access ladders, walkways, hand rail systems, radio controlled hydraulic equalizing suspension and loading ramps, and auto greasing systems for ease of maintenance.

For mine site requirements of 200t – 550t Drake have a larger capacity transporter range. These models are generally only coupled to mine site dump trucks due to the demand for higher king pin loading.

The suspension comprises trunnion axles mounted to dual single point beams and will provide for extreme axle movement giving full load sharing on each axle, and greater strength and reliability than a sprung suspension. The axles are bolted in for ease of removal and maintenance. Suspension bushes are long life bronze and the tyres are three star rating Bridgestone’s, 14.00R x 24.

Most designs are fitted with hydraulically operated heavy duty ramps mounted to a beaver tail, offering various loading angles to suit the customer’s equipment. There are several other customisable options including radio remote control, various greasing systems, power pack options, deluge systems, access ladders and hand rails to name a few.

With every mine site trailer that we build we provide onsite training and commissioning as well as spare parts manuals, schematics, and load/speed charts. Drake also have an experienced team of qualified engineers to help with any load planning, turning circle radius diagrams, swept path analysis and other engineering services.

SERVICE & MAINTENANCE

Remaining resolutely committed to growing Australia’s manufacturing industry and economy, Drake Trailers provides end-to-end solutions with products backed by warranty, servicing and parts. Drake’s service engineers can also extend the service life of mine site floats, whether built originally by Drake or any other manufacturers, with scheduled maintenance and repair services right through to full “ground up” rebuilds.

Through the introduction of new designs as well as the constant evolution of its trailer range over the past 50 years, Drake Trailers has demonstrated commitment to provide the best possible solutions to all of its customers’ heavy-duty transport needs. Designed to stand up to the most challenging of tasks, Drake Trailers ensures that outstanding workmanship and quality are maintained in every trailer it builds.